Clock striking mechanism.



PATENTED MAR. 7,1905.

R. NUSSBERGEP.

CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28-1904.

3 BHEETBSHEET 1.

[mi/z iglz HIHIIIIIIHIIIIIIIH nnn Moi mass es fivc'yzzar M rflj asgeye 1PATENTED MAR. 7,4905. R. NUSSBERGER.

CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28.1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

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PATENTED MAR. '7, 1905.

R. NUSSBERGER.

GLOGK STRIKING MECHANISM.

APPLICATION FILED JUNE 28.1904.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

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JMVML UNITED STATES Patented March '7, 1905.

RICHARD NUSSBERGER, OF ZURICH, SIVITIZERLAND.

CLOCK STRIKING MECHANISM.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. '7 84,273, dated March'7, 1905.

Application filed June 28, 1904. Serial No. 214,527.

To (all whom, it may coltccrn:

Be it known that l, RICHARD NUssB nnenn, a citizen of the Republic ofSwitzerland, residing in Zurich, in the Canton of Zurich, Republic ofSwitzerland, (whose ost-oflice address is Engweg No. 7, Zuricln) haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Striking Mechanism forClocks; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, andexact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same,referencebeing had to the acconn'ianying drawings, and to characters ofreference marked thereon, which form a part of this speciiication.

I have applied for patent in Germany on June 29, 1903.

In the braking and releasing devices hitherto used for the rack andstriking-gear in rack striking-clocks pawls have been mostly used whichwere under the action of springs. The employment of springs, however,has the disadvantage that their power decreases with time and theiraction easily becomes unreliable, so that with such striking-gearsinterruptions are often occasioned.

In the brake and releasing device forming the subject of the presentinvention the above mentioned disadvantages are avoided in that nosprings at all are employed and that the braking-lever stops the actionof the rack and also the striking-gear.

In the accompanying drawings, which reppresent one form of carrying theinvention into effect, Figure 1 is a front view of the device in theposition when striking is about to occur. Fig. 2 is a plan, and Fig. 3is a front view of the arrangement in its normal position. Fig. 4 is asection on line A B in Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a view of the divided disk fromthe rear.

The spindle of the minute-wheel is marked 1 and that of the hour-wheel2. At the side of and above these two shafts there is secured on thefront plate 3 a guide-plate f, in which the rack 5 works. The latter iskept in place in the guide by pins 6, projecting therefrom on each sideof the guide, and by means of a headed screw 9, which passes through aslot 9* in the rack. The rack is provided with twelve teeth 7, withwhich the pin 8 of the lifting-pawl 10 is intended to gear. This pawl issecured on the shaft 11, which is so driven from the striking-gear (notshown) that at each rotation of the shaft a blow is given by thestriking-gear. The pawl 10 is also provided with an arm 12, having aprojecting lateral pin 13, the object of which will hereinafter bedescribed.

Behind the rack 5 a braking-lever15isjournaled on the frontplate 3 bymeans of a pin 14, the front end 16 of which lever is bent downward. Thebraking-lever 15 also carries a pin 17, which when the mechanism is inthe position shown in Fig. 3 engages with one side of the rack. Over thespindles 1 and 2 a pawl 18 is journaled on the brake-lever 15, and thispawl in consequence of a stop-pin19, projecting from the brake-lever,can only move to the left. In the position mentioned the point of pawl18 stands within the range of travel of two diametrically-disposcd pins21, which project from a rcleasingwheel 20, fixed upon the spindle ofthe minute-wheel, and these pins at the rotation of said spindle in thedirection of the arrow successively lift the brake-lever 15, it beingimpossible for the pawl to swing out to the right in consequence of theprojecting pin 19 engaging a shoulder formed upon the upper end of thepawl 18. \Vhen, however, there is a rotation of the minute-wheel spindlein the opposite directiointhe pins 21 in their movement cause the pawl18 to swing out to the left, and so no movement is communicated to thelever 15.

In front of the hour-wheel 22 and upon its shaft there is a divided disk23, which is provided with a number of projecting pinsarranged in sets 2and The pins 25 serve for striking the hours. The distance a of that pin25 being placed the nearest to hub of disk 28 from the hub is equal thedistance a between two vicinal teeth of rack 5, Fig. Fur ther, thedistance between two vicinal pins 25 relating to the radius of disk isalso equal to this distance a. The pins let serve for striking thehalf-hours and are placed in a circle around the spindle of hour-wheel.The radius of this circle is equal to distance between the 100 outermostpin 24% and the center of the hourwheel.

On the rack 5 is secured a spring-arm 26, the

(normal) position, as shown in Fig. 3, with the pin 17 of thebrake-lever 15 engaging the rack 5, preventing it from dropping down inconsequence of the inclined position of the brake-lever 15, by therunning of the clockgear (not shown) the shaft 1 of the minutewheelturns with the releasing-wheel 20, whereby one of the pins 21 comesbeneath and engages the pawl 18, thereby lifting the brakelever 15, sothat the braking-pin 17 is drawn away from the rack 5, and the latter,together with the arm 26, descends until the head 27 of the arm 26contacts with the shaft 2 of the hour-wheel. It will drop this distanceat the twelve-oclock position. (See Fig. 1.) This movement by a pin 28,arranged at the lower left end of the rack 5, releases the arm 12 of thelifting-pawl 10, Fig. 3. This pawl would now be caused to constantlyrotate by the action of the striking-gear acting upon the shaft 11, butthat after a very short rotational movement the pin 13 on the arm 12contacts with the front arm 16 of the raised brakelever 15, Fig. 1. Assoon as the spindle l of the minute-wheel has turned so much fartherthat the pin 21 passes from under the pawl 18 the brake-lever "fallsback again into its earlier position, whereby the arm 16 releases thepin 13, so that the striking-gear now comes into action. In consequenceof the rotation of the shaft 11 with the wheel 10 the pin 8 is caused toengage with the uppermost tooth of the teeth 7 of the rack 5 and raisesthe rack by one tooth, and when the pin is withdrawn from the tooth therack is retained in that position by the pin 17, which thus operates asa brake. This winding up of the rack takes place successively with eachof the twelve notches until at last the pin 28 again comes in front ofthe arm 12, and so stops or brakes the striking-gear. After theaccomplishment of a half-revolution of the spindle of the n'1inute-wheel(a half-hour) the second pin.21 of the releasing-wheel 20 comes intogear with the pawl 18 and effects in a similar manner a successiverelease of the brake-lever 15, rack 5, and striking-gear. Since,however, the divided disk 23 on the shaft of the hour-wheel hasmeanwhile madev one twentyfourth of a revolution, the nearest of thepins 24 lying to the left comes per 'mndicularly under the end 27 of thearm 26, and since the pin 24: is distant by the length of eleven toothdivisions of the rack 5 from the highest point of the shaft of thehour-wheel the rack 5 falls one tooth only, by reason of the end 27 ofthe arm 26 engaging the pin 2% in question,

and thus when the rack is raised. by one tooth the pin 28 will againcome in front of the arm and stop the striking-gear. 'lhcrefi'ire whenthe brake-lever 15 is released the arm 26 will be allowed to fall on anearer or on a more distant pin of the spindle of the hourwheel, andaccording to the distance it falls the striking-gear will remain activefor a correspondingly longer or shorter time and the number of strokeswill be greater or less. If it is desired to set the clock and theminutehand or the spindle of the minute-wheel be turned, (no matter inwhich direction,) then the pin-disk 23, fixed on the spindle of thehour-wheel, makes a COII'OSDODtllDg rotation in consequence of the wheeltransmissions in the driving-gear in reduced measure, and it is enabledto do this by means of the springlike construction of the arm 26. Itgives way as the striking-pins pass its end. Thus while a relativeturning between the shaft of the hour-wheel or the hour-hand of theclock and the pin-disk, likewise carried on the spindle of thehour-wheel and regulating the strikinggcar, is ordinarily not possiblean incorrect striking of the hour is also not possible.

The hour-wheel 22 could be substituted by the divided disk 23,\vhich insuch a case would be toothed, and the head 27 must be placed on theinner side of the lever 26. The hour-wheel 22 and the divided disk 23could also be fixed one on the other. It is clear that the arrangementcould be employed also for clocks striking the quarter, in which case anextra pin must be placed on the disk 23 between each two adjacent pins24 and A correct striking of the hour is also enabled when setting thehands during the striking of the hour. The invention is also applicableto clock-towers.

\Vhat I claim is- 1. In braking and releasing mechanism for the rack andstriking-gear in rack strikingclocks,the combination of a striking-gearwith a vertically-movable rack, a guide for same, a braking-leverarranged in an oblique position, means upon said lever for engaging theside of the rack and braking it in each of its positions by pressureexerted in a horizontal direction, and a bent part at the end of thesaid brake-lever, adapted to brake the strikinggear, substantially asdescribed.

2. In braking and releasing mechanism for the rack and striking-gear inrack strikingclocks, the combination of a striking-gear, with avertically-movable rack, a guide for same, a braking-lever arranged inan oblique position, a bent part at the end of said brake-lever, a diskmounted upon the spindle of the hourwheel, a set of pins projecting fromsaid disk in a spiral line, and a second set of pins projecting fromsaid disk in a circle, substantially as described.

3. In braking and releasing mechanism for the rack and striking-gear inrack strikingclocks,the combination of a striking-gear with avertically-movable rack, a guide for same, a 1 also limiting itsmovement, substantially as disk mounted upon the spindle of thehourdescribed.

wheel, a set of pins projecting from said disk In testimony that l claimthe foregoing l. in a spiral line, an arm secured to said rack havehereunto set my hand this 15th day of adapted to engage every successivehalf-hour June, 190st.

with one of the pins on said disk and thereby x i j T 1 w a limit thefall of the rack and a second set of LUbbBERGLR' pins pro ecting fromsaid disk in a circle for Vitnesses:

engaging at every successive quarter-hour HERMANN HUBER,

IO with the arm projecting from the rack and. Josmrii SIMON.

